Irish actress Brenda Fricker, who won an Oscar for her role in 1989 film My Left Foot, has died at the age of 81.
Fricker had well-loved parts in Home Alone 2 and TV’s Casualty during her career. She won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1990 for playing Daniel Day-Lewis’s on-screen mother in My Left Foot.
In a statement, her agent Phil Belfield said: “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her.” He added that he was honoured to know, love and work with her and that she would always have a place in his heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.
A Groundbreaking Career
Born in Dublin, Fricker began her acting career with parts in TV and the theatre. This included Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row in the 1960s, ITV soap Coronation Street in 1977, and Licking Hitler, a Play For Today written by David Hare, in 1978.
She was in the cast of the first episode of long-running BBC medical drama Casualty in 1986. Fricker remained a fixture until 1990 and returned regularly in the subsequent years, making her final appearance in 2010.
In 1990, she made history when she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award. She beat Hollywood stars including Julia Roberts and Anjelica Huston for the accolade.
My Left Foot told the true story of an Irish man named Christy Brown, played by Day-Lewis, who was born with cerebral palsy and could control only his left foot. The actor also won an Oscar for his starring role in the film.
Iconic Roles and Later Reflections
Another memorable role came two years later when Fricker was cast as the homeless bird lady befriended by Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin in Home Alone 2. Her other film credits included 1993’s So I Married An Axe Murderer, 1994’s Angels In The Outfield, 1996’s A Time To Kill and 2003’s Veronica Guerin.
However, Fricker later claimed she would have gone on to have a better career if it hadn’t been for her success at the Oscars. “What did happen was the old curse of the Oscars, as they call it,” she told the Times in 2024.
She said the accolade led to her being typecast and overlooked for a lot of roles, including in theatre. Fricker also joked that one does not get any money with an Oscar, suggesting they “could give you a few bob with it, at least.”
Tributes from Across the Atlantic
The US ambassador to Ireland, Edward Walsh, paid tribute to Fricker as “a giant of Irish film” and praised her “unforgettable” performance in My Left Foot. Writing on X, he said her work “brought Ireland’s stories to the world and inspired generations on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Ambassador Walsh added that she leaves a remarkable legacy. He extended his deepest condolences to her family, friends, and all who loved her.